Local businesses to host the Mayor at a free block party featuring food trucks, children’s entertainment, interactive demonstrations, and more to engage the city’s pet lovers.
April 14, 2017 – Alexandrians love their pets and this adoration continues to reach new heights with the City serving as home to an ever-growing number of pet businesses and services. In recognition of this, Mayor Allison Silberberg and the Alexandria City Council will be proclaiming April 23rd as Alexandria Love Your Pet Day. Local businesses will host a block party on Colvin St in the West End from 11am-2pm that day to celebrate this announcement. Free for all attendees, this event will be pet- and family-friendly and feature participation by 40+ local organizations.
The number of pets is on the rise across the nation, estimated to reach over 187 million by 2021, with the U.S. serving as home to over 75 million pet dogs—more than in any other country in the world. Sixty-five percent of US households own pets, a number that continues to increase year-over-year. This equates to approximately 44,000 homes in Alexandria where one out of every four residents is a dog. Alexandria is ranked one of the most dog-friendly towns on the East Coast according to DogFriendly.com, with 18 off-leash public dog parks and over 2,000 pet-friendly rooms in extended stay properties and hotels. Take a walk down the streets of Del Ray or Old Town on a nice day and you will see lots of water bowls or even free treats set out in front of local businesses.
The block party kick-off event will be held at 11 am on Sunday, April 23rd in the Wholistic Hound Academy parking lot located at 18 Roth St (attendee parking in the Bishop Ireton lower lot directly across Duke St). This will be hosted by local celebrity vet Dr. Katy Nelson, feature Mayor Silberberg making the official proclamation, and will be followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony opening up onto the block party route along the two blocks of Colvin St to S Quaker Lane and back. Everyone is invited to attend and leashed pets are welcomed.
Attendees will travel the block party route until 2pm enjoying delicious food offerings, face painting and balloon animals, learning from local vendors, non-profits, and community service providers, and enjoying various demonstrations and activities such as freestyle dog dancing, nail trimming, pet nose-to-tail assessments, treat taste tests, and more! At each stop on the route, attendees can earn a stamp on their event map with the first 100 completed maps turned in for a gift bag full of goodies from participating businesses.
